Drakeford set to confirm whether restrictions can be relaxed as new variant cases rise to almost 100

The Welsh Government are mulling a further relaxation in Covid restrictions in Wales today, as confirmed cases of the Delta variant rose to almost 100 across the country.

Thirty nine case of what was formerly known as the ‘Indian’ variant have been discovered in Wales in the last week. Fifty-three of the 97 cases of the variant, believed to be more transmissable, have been found in Conwy, with most of the rest believed to be in the south of the country.

Welsh ministers will today make a final decision on changes to the Covid restrictions before an announcement on Friday.

It comes as the Scottish Government has paused some of their plans to ease restrictions. The UK Government have also suggested that they might not be able to lift all the pandemic rules in England on June 21st as intended.

New Health Minister Eluned Morgan said the situation was “very serious” and they needed to “nip it in the bud”.

She added that the spread of the variant “will play into how we assess the situation on Friday”.

“The last thing we want to see is this spreading across the whole of Wales,” she said.

The First Minister Mark Drakeford said he had hoped to move all of Wales into Alert Level 1, but the rising number of the new variant means that decision is now in the balance.

Alert Level 1 would allow six people from three different households allowed to meet indoors. The limit on the number of people at events outdoors would rise from 50 to 100, while the indoors limit would go up from 30 to 50.